


How silence can be louder and scarier than any noise

by Luckygranmma



Series: Nate and Minette's short adventures into the ruthless world of romancing a vampire [1]
Category: The Wayhaven Chronicles (Interactive Fiction)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Maybe some angst, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:54:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25268695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luckygranmma/pseuds/Luckygranmma
Summary: A short story written for wayhaven week 2020 day 3: tender. Featuring Nate and my detective Minette Mercier and her weird way of emoting.
Relationships: Female Detective/Nathaniel "Nate" Sewell
Series: Nate and Minette's short adventures into the ruthless world of romancing a vampire [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1863736
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	How silence can be louder and scarier than any noise

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I am very bad at any of this fghjfjg this is my first fan fic i've posted here and english is not my first language but i do be trying!! any constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged!! I hope you enjoy this as much as i enjoyed writing it

It was so easy to listen to her. Her monologues -the ones that dragged for hours and were devoid of structure or conclusion, those that made the whole station growl in desperation-, he loved them. From the way her voice almost sung each syllable and the way her hands acted -albeit poorly- each one of her points, to the way her eyes shone as she excitedly hopped from a topic to another. But listening went beyond just her incessant babbling, sometimes it meant listening to her steady breathing as she worked on a case. Or her heavy sighs when she met up with the mayor. Or her short breaths when his fingers ran over her skin. It meant counting her heartbeats as he whispered in her ear, watching her pulse spike when he teased and how it steadied as she fell asleep on his shoulder. Nate would have spent all of the eternity he had left listening to her if he could. And as they walked back from the station to her apartment, it meant listening to her silence.  
It was unusual for her to be this quiet after such a long day. So unusual Nate was worried. She didn’t sigh nor look off dramatically into the distance like she usually did when something upset her. Instead there was nothing coming from her but the light kicking of her heels against the woods’ dirt path. Nate felt his stomach knot and his throat squeeze up. This was too unusual. Should he call Felix for advice? Or maybe Tina! Tina would know better, right? Alright, maybe ‘worried’ was an understatement. He was panicking, or the equivalent of ‘digging your hands so far in their pockets that they now have holes’ and ‘looking like a concerned mum at a parent teacher meeting and you know your kid did something but aren’t sure what yet’.  
Should he dare ask her if she’s ok? Maybe he misread her completely and she was totally fine. Or maybe she was furious and would snap at him for not noticing sooner -note that it’s not in her character to be that way but poor Nate’s brain wasn’t thinking very rationally in that moment. Either way, he wasn’t sure of his next course of action. But he had to do something.  
Minette looked back a little confused when Nate stopped in the middle of the path. His frown was heavy with concern as he gently took her hand in his. Her pulse remained the same and he froze. He could feel his own heart sink as her fingers failed to return the careful squeeze of his hand. He could barely swallow anymore as he stared into the deep green pools of her eyes for something, anything.  
“Minette?” his voice was but a weak whisper in the summer wind, “Is everything alright?” She finally looked at him, truly looked at him and not at something far past him, for the first time that day. She shrugged.  
“Let’s go. I don’t want to be late tonight.” was all she said as her eyes lowered to the floor again. She slipped her hand out of his and turned to move forward, but he stopped her. Maybe he shouldn’t have but he still reached for her arm and gave her a soft spin so that she faced him.  
“I just want to make sure you’re fine. It’s not like you to be this quiet.” He softened his grip and let his hand almost slide off her. She didn’t look at him, her beret hanging low enough that it was hiding her face from him. “You can tell me anything… You know that, right?” he was met with another silence, this time longer, more dragged out. Each second felt like his heart was being ripped out in a slow and painful agony with no one to put him out of his misery. He was about to say something else. Something between begging and pleading. Anything to see her smile, to have her hand prompt against his shoulder in a reassuring way, to hear the familiar ring of her voice. Instead, he gave her the space he always knew she needed but hated to accept.  
He finally dropped his hand. He didn’t expect her to reach for it as it fell almost limp. Nor to feel her trembling fingers hold meekly onto his palm. Even less her whole body slouching over before rising to the rhythm of sobs. Sobs? Nate didn’t have the time to react as she lifted a pained face. She flopped against his chest in a sloppy hug drowning his green shirt in her heavy warm tears. He attempted to return the hug, but she clung onto his hand and he could only use his other arm to embrace her. Still her little frame was swallowed whole by his broad shoulders.  
“It’s ok. I’m here, everything will be alright.” He whispered as he lightly kissed the top of her head and rubbed abstract patterns onto her back. He held her tightly, somehow relieved she was opening up to him but mostly worried. He had so many questions, but the time didn’t feel right, he needed her to feel better before he would satisfy any curiosities.  
He waited a few more heavy minutes before her breathing normalized -or at least, calmed down a little. She stepped back wiping her tears away as she attempted to unplug her nose through quick deep breaths. Their fingers were still linked despite their hold losing its necessity. “I’m sorry,” she forced a smile “I just had a very rough week.” Her gaze refused to meet his, sinking down again.  
“Don’t be sorry,” he carefully cupped her face and guided it up so that their eyes could meet. “You don’t have to apologise for anything.” he wiped at a stray tear with his thumb, “You are very important to me, you will never be a bother.”  
“Thank you…” she smiled and this time it was genuine. Her head softly leaned into his hand and all traces of sorrow left her face.  
“Are you feeling better?” he asks as she pulls away.  
“A lot better actually! Who knew crying would feel so good?” she was back to her old self again.  
“Would you like to talk about it?” he couldn’t help but ask.  
“Not yet! If that’s ok.”  
“Alright, anything that’ll make you happy.” He was about to drop the subject, but he just had to be sure. He took her other hand and brought both of them up. His eyes never left hers, reading carefully her every reaction. Her blush crawled from her runny nose to the tips of her ears. Her mouth fell agape as she felt his warm breath against her fingers. “Your well-being is one of my top priorities, Minette. Please believe that.” He slowly kissed each of her knuckles as her eyes avoided him, but not because she was hiding from him this time. Her heart rate picked up with each kiss and Nate sighed softly in relief. Oh, how he had missed that erratic rhythm of hers. He could finally relax.  
“Oh, of course it is, you cheeky Romeo.” She mumbled as he released her. He chuckled, she was back to her old self alright! And as they resumed their walk, their fingers remained intertwined.


End file.
